Hebrew Month: Sivan

And this calculation is taught in a baraita: On the twenty-ninth of Sivan, Moses sent the spies. And it is written: “And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days” (Numbers 13:25), which means that they came back on the Ninth of Av. The Gemara asks: These are forty days minus one. The remaining days of the days of Sivan, the entire month of Tammuz, and eight days of Av add up to a total of thirty-nine days, not forty.

And to Moses He said [(before the Ten Commandments) on the fourth of Sivan]: Go up to the L-rd, you and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and bow down from afar.

The Sages taught: On the sixth day of the month of Sivan, the Ten Commandments were given to the Jewish people. Rabbi Yosei says: On the seventh day of the month. Rava said: Everyone agrees that the Jews came to the Sinai desert on the New Moon, as it is written here: “In the third month after the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai” (Exodus 19:1), without elaborating what day it was. And it is written there: “This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exodus 12:2). Just as there, the term “this” is referring to the New Moon, so too, here the term is referring to the New Moon. And similarly, everyone agrees that the Torah was given to the Jewish people on Shabbat, as it is written here in the Ten Commandments: “Remember the Shabbat day to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8), and it is written there: “And Moses said to the people: Remember this day, in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place; there shall be no leaven eaten” (Exodus 13:3). Just as there, the mitzva of remembrance was commanded on the very day of the Exodus, so too, here the mitzva of remembrance was commanded on the very day of Shabbat. Where Rabbi Yosei and the Sages disagree is with regard to the determination of the month, meaning which day of the week was established as the New Moon. Rabbi Yosei held: The New Moon was established on the first day of the week, and on the first day of the week He did not say anything to them due to the weariness caused by the journey. On the second day of the week, He said to them: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation; these are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:6).

And the glory of the L-rd reposed upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it and He called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud. [Or, according to another view, him. ("it"): "And the glory of the L-rd reposed upon Mount Sinai and the cloud covered it for six days [from Rosh Chodesh Sivan], and He called to Moses [(all of Israel standing there, but Moses being singled out for special honor)] on the seventh day [to declare the Ten Commandments] from the midst of the cloud." ("him"): "And the glory of the L-rd reposed upon Mount Sinai and the cloud covered him for six days [after the Ten Commandments, the beginning of the forty days of Moses' going up to receive the tablets (Scripture teaching that entrance into the "Divine Encampment" (later, the Holy of Holies) requires a six-day separation period)], and He called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud."]

יום הששי THE SIXTH DAY — The letter ה, the numerical value of which is 5, is added to the word ששי when the work of Creation was complete, to imply that He made a stipulation with them that it endures only upon condition that Israel should accept the five books of the Torah (Shabbat 88a). Another interpretation of יום הששי THE SIXTH DAY — The whole Creation (the Universe) stood in a state of suspense (moral imperfection) until the sixth day — that is, the sixth day of Sivan which was destined to be the day when the Torah would be given to Israel (Avodah Zara 3a).

Ḥizkiya said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “You caused sentence to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was silent” (Psalms 76:9)? If it was afraid, why was it silent; and if it was silent, why was it afraid? Rather, the meaning is: At first, it was afraid, and in the end, it was silent. “You caused sentence to be heard from heaven” refers to the revelation at Sinai. And why was the earth afraid? It is in accordance with the statement of Reish Lakish, as Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31)? Why do I require the superfluous letter heh, the definite article, which does not appear on any of the other days? It teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, established a condition with the act of Creation, and said to them: If Israel accepts the Torah on the sixth day of Sivan, you will exist; and if they do not accept it, I will return you to the primordial state of chaos and disorder. Therefore, the earth was afraid until the Torah was given to Israel, lest it be returned to a state of chaos. Once the Jewish people accepted the Torah, the earth was calmed.

Then the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the twenty third day of the month; and an order was written, according to all that Mordokhay commanded, to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors and princes of the provinces, from Hoddu as far as Kush, a hundred and twenty seven provinces, to every province according to its writing, and to every people according to their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.